Brandon Sanderson has sold over 7 million copies of his written works around the world. He is most known for his fantasy books and their complicated magic systems. He is now 47 years old and has 3 children. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska and lives in Utah so he can teach a writing class at BYU. He is most famous for the creation of an MCU style universe for his stories, called The Cosmere. It’s incredible how he goes so in-depth with his worldbuilding, and his magic mechanics hook you right in. The way that he totally immerses you into a completely new and fantastic world is amazing. So if you’re looking for something different from your standard dwarves and elves, I’d recommend Sanderson. 

Specifically, I’m reviewing one of my personal favorites of his works, The Way of Kings. With 383,389 words and 1,007 pages, the book is long enough to be considered a high fantasy novel. A high fantasy novel is usually a book with a very high page count, and generally well-liked. More notable examples of them include, the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and the Inheritance Saga. In The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson can easily go over real-world issues like suicide and guilt, while still having some light-hearted and loving scenes. The way he presents his characters is so amazing to me because he makes them feel like real people. The characters’ reactions don’t feel like an ideal or a representation of any specific trait. They act like people would. 

Sanderson is very good at foreshadowing. And when I say foreshadowing, I mean it. I have read this book quite a few times, and I still pick up new details every time. He writes so many details that I think get glossed over by readers. I also like the way that in his worlds, there are such specific parts of cultures, races, languages, and geography. It is so different from our world in so many ways, but it still alludes to political and philosophical problems like classism. Even though it is represented in a very different way. Sanderson also has very good representation in his books. He has gay characters, straight characters, species without a gender, etc. All sorts of stuff.

In short, Brandon Sanderson is an incredible author. He has fantastic story-telling techniques, amazing worldbuilding, and incredible character development. I personally believe that he is one of the greatest authors of our time, and is trying to accomplish something fantastic with his writing.